Supernatural business booming amid crisis
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
While many people are suffering from the pinch of the prolonged economic crisis, psychics, mystics and other practitioners of the supernatural arts are enjoying robust business. In fact, the economic crisis has been good for them, as more people look for a little supernatural help to survive the tough times.
Pak Yanto, who has a business in Petojo, Central Jakarta, said the number of clients seeking his help ranged from five to 20 people a day. Most of them come during the weekend.
He used to receive only several clients a week, but for the first few years after the economic crisis hit the country in 1997, more and more people sought him out for help in finding a job or developing their businesses.
But now, most of his clients are seeking his advice about health, romance and marriage.
"I only act as a medium to deliver their will to the divine. I help them with my prayers," said the middle-aged Yanto.
He usually asks his clients to perform rituals, such as bathing in a tub filled with flowers or abstaining from all food except plain rice or vegetables.
"My clients must believe me, otherwise it will be useless," said Pak Yanto, who has been working as a mystic for about five years.
When asked about his career choice, he only says "it is my destiny".
Pak Yanto, who makes between Rp 50,000 (US$5.50) and Rp 300,000 a day, does not have any set fees for consultations. He also sells medications and susuk (a small piece of gold or diamond inserted in a part of the human body as a magical charm) in his office. The price of a susuk starts at Rp 50,000.
His clients are usually housewives, small-scale traders, domestic helpers and others in the low-income bracket.
But that is not to imply that a belief in the supernatural is confined to the lower classes. People from all walks of life actively consult with psychics and mystics. It is not unusual to find people here who spend their days in high-tech offices, engaged in the business of the 21st century, and yet on the weekend they visit their mystic for help in sorting out a personal problem.
Adrian (not his real name), a prosecutor, says that he enjoys the services of a mystic, from whom he bought an amulet for over Rp 2 million. The amulet, a piece of paper containing a mantra which is kept in a tiny bag, is supposed to have the power to make Adrian more charismatic, helping him impress his bosses.
"I have to survive the office competition. Apart from improving my ability, I also wear the amulet to help my efforts. When I wear it, I feel more confident," said Adrian, who is in his early 30s.
Because there are so many people like Adrian who do not hesitate to spend millions of rupiah for some supernatural help, an enterprising mystic can make a lot of money.
Eddy Rusmanto, better known as Boss Eddy, has created a veritable supernatural empire. He aggressively advertises his services in several magazines and papers that deal with the mystical arts -- reportedly at a cost of Rp 200 million a year -- and has launched his own website: www.boseddy.cjb.net.
He says that he provides services for hundreds of clients, including foreigners, every day, and told The Jakarta Post last weekend that he was able to make more than Rp 10 million a day.
"I also offer long-distance services. A client just has to send me a letter or an e-mail describing their problem, and I solve the problem (after the client transfers payment)," said Boss Eddy, who first got into the business in 1986, three years after he began studying the mystical arts with several gurus.
He resides in Pati, a town along the north coast of Central Java, and has opened up his practice in several cities in the country, including Jakarta.
The 43-year-old charges his clients from hundreds of thousands of rupiah up to millions of rupiah each. Like Pak Yanto and other mystics, he offers susuk and azimat (amulets) which are supposed to have the power to solve various problems, from sexual woes to frustrated careers.